


I'm Not Going Anywhere

by froppii



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Callum - Freeform, F/M, Rayla - Freeform, Rayllum, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, frick aaron ehasz, gotta get that rayllum shit, i should be paying attention in ap world right now but oh well, probably somewhere in season 3, rayla and callum thinking about after the war, raylas unrequited love is the most painful thing in my life currently, rayllum rights, we love you dani and lulu, why are titles so hard, why can i not type
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-18 01:49:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21503275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froppii/pseuds/froppii
Summary: Rayla and Callum think about what will happen to them after the mission.
Relationships: Callum & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Rayla/Callum, Rayllum - Relationship
Comments: 4
Kudos: 118





	I'm Not Going Anywhere

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so before you comment about the Wonderstorm situation, I am very aware of it and Danika, Lulu, and the other women do not deserve the treatment they received. Aaron Ehasz has deliberately lied to fans about the situation and deflects all accusations, calling them "unfounded" and invalidating the experiences these women had with the company. HOWEVER. Boycotting the show and company as a whole will not bring about chang4 and will only hurt innocent people. Aaron Ehasz is a brilliant writer and storyteller, but his actions don't reflect well on him and the fandom deserves the full truth.  
> I will not stop supporting the show though. This is the community that Danika and Lulu love and helped to create. Boycotting the show won't do anything, all we can do is keep drawing attention to the situation and hope Aaron eventually learns to change on his own.
> 
> Please don't talk about the situation in the comments, let's keep it positive and story focused down there, guys :)  
> I hope you enjoy this little one-shot to help quench the drought

Rayla sat on the cold stone ground, her back against the wall of the cave she and Callum had taken refuge in for the night. They entered Xadia just a few days ago and were almost out of the desert. If it weren't for the sandstorms and their severe lack of resources, they would have been progressing much faster. 

The fire they had set burned out several hours ago, and though her eyes were closed, sleep still eluded her. She opened her eyes and looked over at Callum, just able to make out his sleeping form in the darkness. He laid on his side and used his sketchbook as a pillow, his chest rising and falling with his even breaths. Zym was curled up next to the ashes that had been firewood, little zaps of lightning escaping his mouth as he snored softly. 

They were on a mission to save the world, the fate of two species at stake. Yet somehow, Rayla felt...calm. Peaceful. She knew it wouldn't last, of course, especially once they were in Xadia proper, but for now, the quiet nights outdoors she had come to enjoy over the past few weeks brought her a feeling of comfort and tranquility. She had her boys-well, two of them, anyway, Ezran having gone with Corvus to take the throne of Katolis- and she knew she would protect them no matter what. They would deliver Zym to the Dragon Queen and stop the war between the human pentarchy and the elves-but...what happened then?

She always knew their mission would come to an end eventually, and if you had asked her two weeks ago, she would have been overjoyed to see their goal finally within her grasp. But now, she didn't know how she felt about it. They were running out of time; with tensions between elves and humans being higher now than ever, they needed to get Zym to his mother as soon as possible. Their days of searching for a safe place to sleep and constantly looking over their shoulders would finally be behind them. Rayla couldn't quite say she was relieved, though. She had realized a couple of days before they entered Xadia what exactly the end of their mission might entail, and it frightened her, as much as she didn't want to admit it to herself. It was a question that always crept into her mind, but she always shoved it away. However, with a moment to think to herself, and the end of their journey so near, it was hard to ignore it.

Was she going to have to say goodbye to Callum?

It was impossible to deny the feelings she had developed for the human, and while that was a factor in her worry it was nothing next to the thought of losing her best friend.

That was what he had become to her, after all. They hadn't known each other for very long, but circumstance had brought them to share a very close bond with one another, and she was scared to lose that. When the war ended, she knew it would mean peace. But each of them would be expected to return to their side of the border. Her to Xadia to continue her combat training, and Callum to Katolis to help his brother look after their kingdom. She knew that was where they needed to be, but she couldn't bear to think about never seeing Callum again. She highly doubted Runaan would ever welcome Callum into his and Tinker's home with open arms, nor would Callum and Ezran's Aunt Amaya so willingly accept Rayla. There had to be another way, but she couldn't think of anything. She felt her throat tighten.

She shook her head and stood. Careful not to disturb her sleeping princes, she made her way to the front of their small hiding place and sat criss-cross in the mouth of the cave. Her hand found its way up to Callum's scarf wrapped around her neck and she weaved the fabric between her four fingers absentmindedly.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but after a while, she heard shuffling behind her, and then Callum was wrapping the cloak from his bag around her shoulders, then sitting next to her on the ground, legs out in front of him. 

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey."

"How come you're up?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Callum could tell she was distracted, her voice quiet and her eyes searching for nothing in the distance. 

"What's on your mind?"

She sighed. Then, after a moment, "You should get some rest, Callum. We've got a long way to go yet."

"Rayla."

When she still didn't meet his eyes, he grabbed her chin, firmly yet softly at the same time, and turned her face to look at him.

"Hey. Something's wrong."

She sighed again as he let go of her face. She didn't know why she didn't want to look at him. Maybe because she was embarrassed, or maybe because she didn't want to bother him with thoughts that were irrelevant to their mission. Maybe it was because she still wasn't used to having someone she was able to share her thoughts _with._

"I just..."

She trailed off.

'It's got me too."

She blinked at him. "What?"

"What comes next. That's what you were thinking, right?"

"Yeah, I- I guess."

She turned away from him again. 

"Why's that so hard to say?" he asked gently.

"Callum..."

_Oh._

"...You're scared."

She shifted uncomfortably, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Rayla, we've talked about this-"

"I know!" she said, loudly enough that Callum was afraid she would wake Zym. "But this is _different,_ Callum. Attachments and...emotions, it's dangerous. Especially for me. And if after we're done with this we have to split up, I'm...I don't know what I'm going to do. "

They were quiet for a moment as Callum processed what she said. 

"You know, when Zym first hatched at the Moon Nexus, I think that's when I finally realized that we're _really_ doing this."

Rayla listened quietly. 

"I mean, look at us, we're just a couple of highly underqualified children delivering a _baby dragon_ to stop a war between species. That doesn't ever really settle in. And when I realized that, I started thinking about the end of the mission. Ez having to be king, seeing Claudia and Soren again after what they did, and then...you."

"Callum-"

"You know, if you hadn't shown up, Ez and I would probably be dead."

"I guess, yeah."

"So...I don't know what I would do without you, either. Your friendship has meant a lot to me, you know. Sure, I'd always had Clauds and Soren, but you've helped me, I dunno, figure stuff out I guess. Figure _myself_ out."

Rayla smiled and turned to look at him, finally. 

"Hey, where's _my_ nickname?" she teased.

"How do you know you don't already have one?"

"Well 'Flash, Woof, Whoosh, Slish Slash' isn't exactly the most creative thing in the world."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, _Ray."_

"Tell me that's not it."

"I don't know, is it?"

_"Stars above, what am I going to do with you?"_

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, and after what felt like half an hour, he felt a weight on his lap. He looked down at Rayla's face, her bright purple eyes staring up at the starry sky.

"...Ray?"

"I'm tired and your human clothes are fluffy and comfortable."

Callum smiled and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. She closed her eyes.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"We'll figure it out, okay?" he assured her softly. "I promise. I'm not going anywhere."

"Wrong."

"Huh?"

"You're going to _sleep."_

Callum rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"I hate you."

"Mhm, sure. Love you too, _Cal_."

She knew she wasn't lying.


End file.
